College Football Playoff race is Alabama, Clemson and then everybody else

After a couple dominating performances, there’s only 1 team that can threaten the Clemson Tigers football team before the College Football Playoff.
Scott Keepfer and Manie Robinson, The Greenville News

“We’ve got a Louisville team that's coming to the Valley,” he said, “and they’re going to give us their best effort.”

For the past three games, opponents have given Clemson their best effort, and it has not made a difference. The Tigers defeated Wake Forest, North Carolina State and Florida State by a combined score of 163-20.

The run of lopsided games can be attributed partly to the caliber of Clemson’s foes. But the blowouts are also the product of the rhythm the Tigers have developed on offense. Freshman Trevor Lawrence improved each week after becoming the lone starting quarterback. He has delivered bullet passes to Clemson’s array of playmakers. Teams can no longer load the box to plug Clemson's running game.

Clemson averaged 250.2 passing yards per game through its first six contests. Lawrence passed for more than 300 yards in each of the past two games. The offensive line allowed four sacks in the nail-biter against Syracuse. It has allowed a total of four sacks in the three games since.

Clemson’s offense hit its stride and caught up with its deep, dominant defense. The Tigers ran into the lead pack in the College Football Playoff race.

Alabama has been out front since the start of the season. The Crimson Tide defeated their first eight opponents by an average margin of 38.3 points. Alabama will face its first formidable foe this week at Louisiana State. If the Tigers from the Bayou cannot derail the rolling Tide, perhaps the Tigers from the Upstate can.

Clemson and Alabama met in each of the previous three Playoffs. The first two encounters were memorable slugfests. Last season in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama dismantled Clemson 24-6. That poor offensive output sapped some juice out of this budding rivalry.

An October of domination revived anticipation for another meeting. Fans must ask themselves if they are more jaded by the possibility of a fourth Alabama-Clemson clash or another Alabama national championship.

The former may be the only way to prevent the latter. Like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Georgia and LSU, Clemson has blemishes it must correct. But with Lawrence progressing and the defense thriving, Clemson has the top-end talent and experienced depth to match Alabama’s might.

To earn the opportunity to prove that theory, Clemson must adopt Elliott’s diplomatic approach. Regardless of the margin, each victory propels Clemson toward the Playoff. Each game uncovers blemishes and helps Clemson sharpen for the tougher challenges ahead.

“The most important game of the season is the game we're playing. If we desire to be the best at the end of the season, then we've got to take it one game at a time,” Elliott said. “We can't worry about what everybody outside of our building is saying. We've just got to focus on our core values and what it takes for us to be successful.”